Mining machine



ec. Z8 i926- M. P. HOLMES MINING MACHINE Filed Sept. 26. 1921 PatentedDec. 28, 1926.

YUNTESD STATES PATENT GFFICE.

MORES P. HOLMES, OF CLAREMONT. NEW HAMSERE, ASSGN'OR 'O STJLIVANMACHINERY CGMPA'NY, A CRPORATON GF MASSACHSETTS.

MINING MACHNE.

Application filed September 2G, 1921. Serial No. 503,345.

`My invention relalesto. mining machines.

tdhas for its object to provide improved feeding mechanism for such amachine, and more especially for a mining machine of the type utilizlnga plurality of flexible feeding members, my invention. contemplating aniniprov-ed arrangement of the windinggrmembers for the flexible feedingvmeans. A further object. of my invention is to provide an improvedarrangement of take-up drum whereby the width of the machine may be decreased or the size of the drum increased as desired without in an-y wayinterfering with the free passage of cuttings through the machine. Theseand other advantages of my improved construction will, however,hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustrationone embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

1n these dravi'ngs,- l Fig. 1 is a side elevation partially in sectionshowing a machine equipped with one form of my improvement.

Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe construction shown in Fig. 1, a portion ofthe casing be ing broken away to facilitate illustration.

In this illustrative construction I have shown a mining machine of theflexibly fed room and pillar type 4and of a usual con'- struction,including a mining machine casing 1 slidable on its bottom on the minebottom and carrying a forwardly projecting cutter bar 2 on which acutterchain 3 carrying bits 4 is rotatable in a well ltnown manner, thecut-ter chain delivering` cuttings as usual through the rear end of thecasing and being driven by suitable motor 5, herein horizontally andlongitudinally extending and carried in the casing, through usualconnections not shown. As in such a construction, the armature shaft 6of the motor is connected te a main feed operating drum 7 rotatable on atransverse axis in rear of the front surface of the motor, which drum inturn carries a ii-eXible feeding member or cable 8 adapted to cooperatewith a guide sheave 9 on the front end of the machine during transverseCutting, the drum being driven from the motor through an internal gear10 on the drum, a spur pinion 11 on one end of a transverse shaft 12', aworin gear 13' and friction-13 on the opposite end of the shaft 12, aworm 14 on the lower end of the vertical shaft 15, a bevel gear 16 onthe upper end of the shaft 15 and a bevel pinion 17 on the end of thearmature shaft. Here it will of course be understood that controllingmeans of any usual type may be provided for the friction 13, the samebeing omitted herefroin to simplify illustration.

In my improved construction, the cooperating feed operating or take-upydrum cooperating with the drum 7 and herein illustrated as a drum 18, isdisposed in rear of the frame and at an acute angle to the hori-Vzontal, the same being supported on the upper end of thev frame androtating in a plane parallel to an inclined surface 19 thereon and abouta studv 2O carried in a suitable support 21, herein below and in rear ofthe inclined surface 19. As shown, the drum 18 is also provided with aninternal bevel gear 22 driven by a bevel pinion 23 on the rear end of alongitudinally extending shaft 2e, suitably journaled in the rear end ofthe frame and having connected to its front end one of the elements of afriction clutch 25, the other element of which is connected to a spurgear 26, so that when the clutch is connected by any suitable mechanism(not shown), the shaft 2a will be rotatedA by the gear Q6 to Wind in acable 27 on the drum 18 while when the clutch is disconnected the drummay rotate freely as desired under the controlof the clutch. Operativelyassociated with this gear 26 and driving the same is also a spur pinion28 carried on the rear end of a longitudinally disposed shaft 29 whichin turn carries a bevel pinion 30 on its front end meshing with a bev-elpinion 31 on the upper end of the shaft 15. As a result of myimprovement, it will be observed that it is made possible to utilize atake-up drum without in any way increasing the width or height of themachine or interfering with the free passage of cuttings from the cutterchain beneath the rear end of the machine, and that since the drum iscarried at an acute angle to the horizontal at the rear end of themachine, itis also capable of being greatly increased in dia-meter toreduce cable breakage while still being retained within the limits ofthe frame and while still being disposed well above the path of thecuttings. Attention is also directed to the fact that with the drum sodisposed, the exible feeding member thereon may be passed off from theunder side of the lli) same at a point relatively close to the bottom ofthe machine and in such a. manner as to enable, if desired, a directconnection from the drum to the jack at the right hand rib, thenecessity for providing intermediate turning sheaves or the like beingthus eliminated.

lVhile I have in this application specifically described one embodimentwhich my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood thatthis form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that theinvention may be modified and embodied in various other forms Withoutdeparting from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

l/Vhat I claim as neuv and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof Whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and flexiblefeeding means therefor including a feed member carried on the oppositeend of said machine from said bar and rotatable in a plane at an acuteangle to the plane of said cutter bar.

2. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof Whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and flexiblefeeding means therefor including a feed member disposed on the oppositeend of said machine from said bar at an acute angle to the plane of saidcutter bar with its lower extremity disposed a substantial distanceabove the machine bottom.

3. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof Whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and flexiblefeeding means therefor including a feed member carried on the oppositeend of said frame from said bar within the lateral limits thereof androtatable in a plane at an acute angle to the plane of said cutter bar.

Ll. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof Whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and flexiblefeeding means therefor including a feed member carried on the oppositeend of said frame from said bar Within the. vertical limits of saidframe and rotatable in a plane atan acute angle to the plane of saidcutter bar.

5. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and flexiblefeeding n'ieans therefor including a feed member carried on the oppositeend of said frame from said bar Within the lateral and vertical limitsof said frame and rotatable in a plane at an acute angle to the plane.of said cutter bar.

6. In combination, a mining machine slidable on the mine bottom duringcutting and provided with a plane cutter bar at one end thereof whoseplane is parallel to the plane of the machine bottom, and fiexiblefeeding means therefor including a feed member carried on the oppositeend of said frame from said bar Within the lateral and vertical limitsof said frame and rotatable in a plane at an acute angle to the plane ofsaid cutter bar with its lower extremity disposed a substantial distanceabove the` machine bottom.

7. In combination, a mining machine including cutting' mechanism,flexible feeding means therefor including a flexible feeding' memberdisposable on the advancing side of the machine and a cooperating feedoperating member therefor, and cooperating flexible feeding' meansincluding a flexible feeding member disposable on the receding side ofthe machine and a cooperating feed member carried on the rear end of themachine at an acute angle to the plane of said cutting mechanism.

8. In a mining machine, a machine frame, flexible feeding mechanismincluding a feed member carried on the rear end thereof at an acuteangle to the bottom of the machine, a motor on said frame, and drivingconnections betvveen said motor and said feed inember including a bevelgear disposed on the axis of said feed member and a bevel pinion meshingwith said bevel gear.

9. In a mining machine, 'a machine frame, flexible feeding mechanismincluding a feed member carried on the rear end thereof at an acuteangle to the bottom of the machine, a motor on said frame, and drivingconnections between said motor and said feed menber including alongitudinally disposed shaft operatively connected to said feed memberand frictional controlling mechanism controlling the connection of saidshaft to said motor.

l0. A mining machine comprising a frame having a cut-ter bar extendinglongitudinally thereof, and transverse flexible feeding means for saidframe acting' on the opposite ends thereof including a retarding membercarried on one end of said frame and disposed at an acute angle to theplane of said cutter bar.

1l. A mining machine comprising a frame having a cutter bar extendinglongitudinally thereof, and transverse flexible feeding means for saidframe acting on the opposite ends thereof including a retarding membercarried on the opposite end of said frame from said bar and disposed atan acute angle to the plane of said cutter bar.

l2. A mining machine comprising a malou 'il en.

chine frame having a plane cutter bar extending longitudinally thereofin planes parallel to the bottom of said machine frame,

flexible feeding means for said frame in-Y cluding flexible advance andreceding po-rtions acting on the opposite ends of said frame, and awinding member acting on one of said portions carried on one end of saidframe in a plane at an acute angle to the plane of saidcntter bar.

13. A mining machine comprising a machine frame having a plane cutterbar extending longitudinally thereof in planes parallel to the bottom ofsaid machine frame, flexible feeding means for said frame includingflexible advance and receding portions acting on the opposite ends ofsaid frame, and a winding memberracting on one of said portions carriedon the opposite end of said frame from said bar in a plane at an acuteangle to the plane of said cutter bar.

14. A mining machine comprising a frame having a cutter bar extendinglongitudinally thereof, fiexible feeding means including fiexibleadvance and receding portions acting on the opposite ends of said frame,a feed operating member cooperating with said advance portion, and atake-up member cooperating with said receding portion, said feedoperating member being disposed on a transverse axis on the advancingside of the machine and said take-up member being disposed on the rearend of the machine in a plane forming an acute angle with the framebottom.

15. A mining machine comprising a frame having a cutter bar extendinglongitudinally thereof and a horizontal longitudinally ex- Y tendingmotor thereon, and Yflexible feeding means including advance andreceding flexible feeding portions acting onthe opposite ends of saidframe, cooperating feed operating and take-up members disposed on theadvancing side and the rear end of said frame respectively, one of whichis rotatable on an axis lying in a longitudinally extending verticalplane, and operative connections between each of said members and therear end of said motor.

16. A mining machine comprising a frame having a cutter bar extendinglongitudinally thereof and a horizontal longitudinally extending motorthereon, and flexible feeding means including advance and recedingflexible feeding portions acting on the opposite ends of said frame,cooperating feed operating and take-up members disposed on the advancingside and the rear end of saidframe respectively, one of whichisvrotatable on an axis lifing in a longitudinally extending verticalplane, and operative connections between each of said members and therear end of said motor including a friction clutch in each connection.

17. In combination, la mining machine having a plane cutter bar at oneend thereof, and flexible feeding means therefor including a take-upmember carried on the opposite end of' said machine from said bar androtatable by power ina plane at an acute angle to the plane of thecutter bar. 1S. In combination, a mining machine having a cutter bar atone end thereof, and flexible feeding means therefor including a take-upmember disposed on the opposite end of said machine from said bar at anacute angle to the plane of the cutter bar with its lower extremitydisposed a substantial distance above the machine bottom.

19. In combination, a mining machine having a cutter bar at one endthereof, and flexible feeding means therefor including a take-up membercarried on the opposite end of said frame from said bar within thelateral limits thereof and rotatable at will by power in a plane at anacute angle to the plane of the cutter bar.

k2O. In combination, a mining machine having a cutter bar at one endthereof, and flexible feeding means therefor-including a feed operatingmember and a take-up member disposed on the advancing side and the rearend of said frame respectively, one of said members being rotatable in aplane at n acute angleto the plane of the cutter 21. In combination, amining machine slidable on a mine bottom during cutting and having aplane cutter bar at one end thereof and disposed in planes parallel tothe bottom of said machine, flexible feeding means therefor including afeed member carried on the opposite end of said machine from said barand rotatable in a plane at an acute angle to the plane of the cutterbar, and means to drive said member at variable speeds. Y

22. In combination, a mining machine slidable upon a mine bottom duringcutting and having a plane cutter bar at one end thereof and disposed inplanes parallel to the bottom of said machine, flexible feeding meanstherefor including a feed member carried on the opposite end of saidmachine from said bar and rotatable in a plane at an acute angle to theplane of the cutterbar, and means including a friction clutch to drivesaid member at variable speeds.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

, MORRIS P. HGLMES.

